And the use of the amendment is deeply unacceptable, religious freedom advocates say.

“Georgia’s program is helping low-income children. It would be a terrible mistake to use a bigoted law from the nineteenth century to hurt schoolchildren today,” said Lori Windham, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which filed an amicus brief supporting the state’s program in December.

“This law is a ghost from Georgia’s past. It shouldn’t be dredged up to haunt education in Georgia today,” Windham continued.